Eat Your Heart Out
by nayruu
Summary: Following the lead of multiple missing co-eds, Angel eventually comes upon the ruins of a burned down building. Stranger still, he finds a seemingly unharmed girl in the rubble. However, uncovering her past may put the LA gang in terrible danger.
1. Chapter 1

Hooded figures loomed over a stone table, their incantations filling the darkness with a foul energy. A young girl, strapped to the cold stone, struggled against her bonds.

"Please..." her voice cracking, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes darted back and forth between the figures and their previous sacrifices. Countless others, their lifeless bodies piled as if now garbage.

"Please, don't do this!" The bloodied dagger now rose over her chest as the incantations grew louder. Slowly, the blade made its way to the girl's heart.

The figures grew silent, the dagger began to glow. She closed her eyes, knowing what was next. As the dagger pierced her heart, the energy in the room seemed to shoot into her.

One grim creature lowered his hood and smiled. "Yessss..."

The girl's body became contorted and em massed in shadow. The dark powers coursed through its victim, creating life anew.

The darkness faded away from the sacrifice, revealing a demon where the young girl once lay. Its long, talon-like fingers twitched with life. Its eyes opened, glowing red for a moment before fading to black. The demon stretched as if awaking from sleep. Its whip-like lashed out and then

recoiled. It stood on the table, surveying its new home.

The leader of the ceremony approached the table, running his hand slowly across it. In a deep, boisterous voice, he called out. "Who is your master?!"

Bowing down, it answered.

* * *

><p>It was a simple enough case. Well, it had started simple. Angel ran a hand through his hair, looking over the charred wreckage. A cult had been reformed and was collecting nearby college kids. Whatever the cult was doing, the kids were never seen again. All the gang had to do was find the cult and tear it apart, hopefully save some of those captured. All the information they had led them here, to an abandoned home outside of town. But it was burned down, nothing and no one left but ashes.<p>

"Think they got into more than they could handle?" Spike asked, smoking a cigarette while he bent down and sifted through some debris.

The older vampire furrowed his brow. It just didn't seem like this cult was that...stupid. From what they knew, this cult was ancient and for some reason, only recently abducting people. The Ah'tuli, as they called themselves, believed they were the descended from gods. They were few in number, but held great power, usually obtained through demonic group did not seek to destroy the world. They couldn't be gods of anything, if the world was destroyed. The cult obsessed over power, but luckily never had the tools to take over the world. Something changed. They needed those kids for a reason. But...why?

Angel and Spike both heard it at the same time. Something rustled through the wreckage. A hand peeked out through some of the cinders, the bruised and bloodied hand of a girl. The two jumped to the spot and began pulling debris away. Angel kneeled down and pulled the girl into his arms. She was breathing, alive despite all the blood she was covered in. She looked up to face her savior. Her eyes flashed red before fading to black. She reached out to touch Angel's face before passing out. Spike leaned in to see a deep scar on her chest.

"She's not human,"Angel surveyed the girl. "Not anymore atleast," fnished the blonde looking back at their surroundings. Angel picked up the girl and started walking to the black DeSoto.

"Hey!" Spike took one last puff before flicking the cigarette away. "Where are you taking her? What is this, mate, finders bloody keepers? She probably burned down the whole soddin' lot of 'em and now you want to take her home...?"

Angel turned to look at his childe. Spike added, " in MY car?"

The brunette rolled his eyes and continued to the car. "We don't know what or who she is, Spike. She may have some answers." Angel gently laid the girl in the backseat. Spike sighed and grumpily took the driver's seat.

The blonde shot a grim look at his master. "She all strapped in, then?" Angel nodded. Spike shook his head, sighing, "Great... just bloody great..."

* * *

><p>"I...I don't remember anything." Her dark hair fell past her shoulders, she watched as she twirled some in her fingers. Nothing felt right. She didn't remember this body, this hair. Nothing was familiar. She sat in a hospital gown on a table in a room in what she knew was not a hospital.<p>

Fred leaned in closer, Angel assured her this girl shouldn't be dangerous. She put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Not even your name?"

Cold, black eyes met her green. "No." The girl then went back to fiddling in her own body, her eyes on the floor.

Spike and Angel watched through the glass. "So much for answers, huh?" Spike leaned back in his chair, his feet on the table in front of him. Angel searched his thoughts. Something was very off. The burning building. This girl mysteriously alive and now with no memory. The Ah'tuli often sought demonic powers, she could have been a member.

"We're here to help you. Anything you can tell us..." Fred started again. "...anything will help us to understand how."

The girl grabbed the edges of the table, turning stiff. The wispy, brunette moved her hand to the girl in front of her. Suddenly, the table started to bend under the girl's strength.

"Angel..." Fred jerked her hand back and looked through the glass.

Angel rushed into the room. The girl convulsed, her body stiff, yet shaking. She looked up, her pained eyes glowing red. "Please...I can't..."

Her hands transformed into sharp edges, her skin began to grow scaly and green.

"Get out." Angel ushered Fred out of the room.

The girl fell to the ground, forming a ball as her body grew a tail. "Please..." her voice became deeper and echoed. "It... hurts..."

The vampire's hand slowly reached out to the girl huddled in pain. Suddenly, her tail whipped around her body, grabbing Angel's wrist. The vampire had no time to react before he was crashing through the glass.

The demon rose to her feet, eyes glowing a fierce red as she walked in for the kill. Angel got to his feet, ready to fight, but the demon fell, struck from behind.

Spike stood with what was left of a chair in his hands. He tossed the pieces aside and walked over the now unconscious demon. Fred looked between the two vampires, still shocked by everything that had happened. The blonde got a pack out of his coat and lit up a cigarette. "She's your problem now," he said as he walked past his sire and the still floored Fred. Spike opened the door to the hallway. "You're the one that wanted her!" he called as he walked away.

Angel and Fred had strapped the demon to her bed in the glaringly bright examination room. Fred frowned, she had hoped the girl wasn't so...violent. It felt wrong to tie up someone and basically hold them prisoner. Well, not even basically, they were. Oh wow, we are kidnappers! Her mind was racing, filled with worry and guilt.

"It's for her own good," Angel read her thoughts. "I don't think that was an act. She really can't control the change. If we just let her go, she'll hurt herself or someone else."

She nodded, but knowing he was right didn't make her feel any better. She needed to stop thining about the morality of their situation. "So...,"she started with a deep breath. "I've already used the binding spell on her. When she comes to, we'll know if it stuck." Fred looked up at the vampire, hoping he knew the next step.

"Then, provided the spell holds, we'll take her to Lorne." This new step worried Fred even more. She wasn't exactly magic-savy. Who knows how strong the hold was? Who's to say that during the reading, the spell wouldn't break and this new demon girl wouldn't rip Lorne to little pieces?

"Um...I think we should wait, then. Make sure that I did it...right."

"It worked and when she's awake, we'll take her to Lorne. She wasn't at all hostile before she changed. And the hotel is a lot more welcoming than this room." Angel rested an arm around her shoulders, leading her out to the room. "Now I have to find Spike and have him help me identify what kind of demon she is."

Angel sighed heavily and Fred smiled a bit. She definitely wouldn't like that job. Not that Spike minded helping the gang out. He was more of the fighting type of help, not the researching type. "You can't do it yourself? That might be faster."

He shook his head, a little bit of shame crept up his face. "I...couldn't see her that well." He shouldn't have been so careless. She looked like she was in pain, he wanted to help her. Then boom, a second later he's through the window and in another second she was on the ground.

Fred shrugged her shoulders. "Still...it might be faster." They both smiled.

* * *

><p>Tons of books laid open, strewn about the long table in the lobby. Spike was throwing a tennis ball at the ceiling. Fred opened a new book, flipping pages and showing them to the blonde. She brought the book up to Spike's face. "Is this it?"<p>

"Nope." He caught the ball, throwing it up again.

"You didn't even turn your head."

"It's called peripherals, love. I saw your little picture."

She glared a bit and then let her arms lay down, she turned the page over and then turned it back. Bringing it up again, "Is this it?"

"Nope."

"It's the same picture!"

Spike caught the ball, sitting back. "And it wasn't the right one the first time, was it?"

"Spike..." Angel, looked up from his book, warning his childe. The older vampire had even more books surrounding him. The three of them had been looking for hours. Spike gave up within the first hour and started with the tennis ball.

"What? I told you both a very detailed description. You don't need me here anymore." He shrugged his shoulders, glaring at his sire.

"We need all the help we can get. Get your nose back in the books."

"I still say that she could a bloody bomb. That whole building was burnt to rubble and she was fine. Not one burn on her." Spike settled into chair, taking an open book off the table.

"Cordelia's looking into that specific kind with your description in mind."

"Why is it all about my description? Why am I suddenly so important? Well, I am very important, but your broodingness never seems to keep that mind."

"Fred had her back turned and I got tail-whipped. You're the only one that got a good look at her," Angel growled.

Spike laughed," Oh right! That was brilliant! Went right through the bloody window." Spike had a huge smile on his face, remembering the encounter.

Angel glowered at his childe, shortly saying, "Right, so read."

The blonde was just about to begin the search again, when Cordy burst through the doors.

"Good news! No bomb." She let her books in her arms crash onto the chair nearby.

Spike grumbled, "That was fast." He was happy the new demon wasn't a bomb, but mad that his guess was wrong.

"Yea, well none of the, luckily for me, few bomby demons look..."She brought up her hands to begin airquotes. "...tall, serpenty, claw fingery, red eyed.." She brought her hands down, placing one on her hips. "Okay, I didn't one hundred percent remember what you said, but they're all fat or glowing and none of them ever look human."

"Thanks, Cordy," Fred smiled. The cheerleader gave off a ditzy air, but she was smart. It was a relief that they weren't housing a living demonic bomb. Fred's wrist starting beeping, the bracelet was glowing fainting as well. "She's awake."

* * *

><strong>Author's Note: So I wrote this story <em>FOREVER<em> ago and never shared it. I decided to change that.**


	2. Chapter 2

The ebony haired girl stirred on the steel table. Eyes closed, she started to stretch her arms; feeling the restraints, she stopped. Her legs lazily tried to move, also tied down. She opened her eyes and craned her neck, looking down at her trapped body before letting her head fall back

onto the table. Her empty eyes stared at the ceiling, a look of worry and sadness on her face.

She didn't remember anything before waking up in Angel's arms, smoke was all she could smell. It burned her lungs and made her head feel dizzy. Looking up at him, she knew to go with him. Something inside told her to. Hearing his name from the other girl, the demon thought it fit. He saved her from burning in whatever that place was. He seemed to genuinely want to help her. And then she had...thrown him across the room.

Confused, she tried to remember. The girl was asking her questions and suddenly there was a pain in her chest. Then her skin tingled and burned at the same time. She felt something growing inside her, it made her feel nauseous. It didn't feel right, something was happening. She held back to urge to just let go and give in. She shut her eyes tight in pain, quickly opening them, looking for Angel. "Please... I can't..." ..stop it, take it, stand it. She didn't know how to finish the sentence. With the pain growing the more she held back, she wasn't sure if she even could.

She winced in pain, her skin crawling and on fire. She couldn't hear anymore, but she felt the other girl leave. An intense wave of pain hit her, it felt like a physical force punching her. She hit the ground. She didn't know if they could help her, but she was desperate for anyone to. _"Please...It hurts..."_...so much, too much. She just let go and then...

She didn't hurt anymore. It felt like she had woken up from a dream. Something was reaching for her, she grabbed it with her...tail. She stood and saw her attacker, it was the man, Angel. Something inside her told her to run, she needed something close by. But first, he was in the way... Then something smashed against her back and she'd woken up on the table.

"Great," she sighed. Back to square one. Dissapointed, she layed alone with her thoughts. Then something popped into her head. She felt different. It wasn't a huge change, but now nothing pulled at her. The demon hadn't realized there even was something nagging away at her until now. Maybe she was getting better. The door opened and the girl from before walked in.

"You're awake," the brunette nervously tucked her hair behind her ear. The demon watched her anxiously turn to where the mirror used to be. Angel stood in the doorway, ready this time if anything went wrong. Fred turned back to the girl before her. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," her black eyes followed to the broken pieces still hanging from the frame. "I'm sorry about that." She looked down ashamed and confused. "I don't know what happened."

Fred took a quick deep breath and went to the padded restraints. "I'm going to open these up." She started with the left wrist, Angel watched intently. At the first sign, he would take her down if he had to. "Then we'll get you to someone who could help you with your memory."

With both her wrists free, the demon sat up and rubbed each one. Her lips barely curled in a smile, "I'll have my memory back?"

Fred finished with the demon's ankle restraints. "Well, not exactly," she started apoligetically. "But he should be able to see them and he'll tell you them."

The brunette turned to Angel and nodded. She couldn't help but smile. She had done it right. The spell was working. Their guest seemed more at ease too which was nice.

"I'll be right back with some clothes for you..."

"No, you won't!" Cordelia walked into the room, a box in her arms. It was filled with clothes.

"Hi, I'm Cordelia. And believe me..." She leaned closer to the new girl and whispered, "you don't want her or Angel dressing you."

Fred scowled a bit, but the demon smiled.

Cordelia started digging through the box. "Okay, so I heard you turned all hulky before so these are my junk clothes. Don't worry. They're still designer."

* * *

><p>The demon slipped her new sweater and white tank on. Cordelia said she could keep them. Luckily the tank had a built-in bra. It was better than nothing. It was weird changing in the room with someone else there. Cordelia didn't seem phased. She had scared Fred off a while ago after the cheerleader convinced the demon to change for millionth time.<p>

"Oh! I have these cute boots that would look killer! What size are you?" the former cheerleader asked excitedly.

"I...," the demon started awkwardly.

Cordelia winced. Oops. "Never mind." Cordelia was digging again. "And don't worry. I said cute boots, not new boots. If you break 'em, it's no big." She found one shoe and then. "Ah! Here! Try them on."

They were a bit loose, but they did look really nice.

Cordy stepped back to look at her work. "I'm amazing. I can make anyone look good."

"Is that right, pet?" Spike sauntered in.

"Not you, you're a lost cause," she pinched Spike in the side, smiling. "What are you doing here?"

"Poof sent me here to see what's taking you two so long." He didn't mention that Angel was still concerned their new guest may hurt Cordy.

"Just having some girl time."

"Yea, well the singing wonder is upstairs and waiting for his next victim."

Spike looked over the demon. She looked much better in that outfit than the gown. And she was acting downright bashful now. To think she had just yesterday sent his sire flying through the glass. While the sudden addition had brought some excitement, he wasn't so sure how he felt about this new meak girl in front of him.

The new girl waited for someone to lead the way. Cordy and Spike started towards the door and she followed.

"Ladies first." Spike bowed and Cordelia rolled her eyes.

The blonde walked behind the two girls, watching the newest addition closely. She fidgeted with her sleeves as they walked, her head moving in every direction taking everything in. That room she was in was in the basement of whereever they were. She followed Cordy up the stairs to be greeted by the main lobby of a hotel.

Maybe it was because she had no one else, but she trusted these people. They were going to help her know who she was. They treated her kindly. One had saved her from a fire. But she remembered that inner voice, now gone, it wanted her to run. She looked over the room, finding Angel, Fred and...

"Ah!" She screamed and ducked behind Cordy and Spike.

Lorne walked up to her, smiling a bit. He extended his hand for a hand shake.

"I'm sorry, sweetness. I didn't mean to scare you." She stared at his hand, slowly reaching hers out as her protectors moved out of the way.

Lorne chuckled. "And after what I heard, I thought I should be afraid to you. You are one complicated cookie, missy."

"You're a demon..." She was frightened, but his friendly demeanor was helping her relax.

"Well if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black. Angel, I love this girl!"

Now she felt stupid. She had had a tail for christ sakes and she was scared because he was green and horned? He was nice too. Ugh, everything was so strange.

"This is Lorne," Angel walked up to them, gesturing to the happy demon by his side, and started leading them to the couches in the middle of the room.

"And you are...?" Lorne started.

"Um... I..."

He lightly slapped her arm, laughing. "Oh, I'm just fooling around, honey." He sat down on the couch and Angel gestured that she could do the same.

"So anytime you're ready, just start singing," he leaned back into the couch.

"Singing?"

Angel sat next to her. "When you sing Lorne can see your past."

"Well, I usually stick to the futures, but hey, who wants to be a one trick pony?"

She looked around shyly. "Um...What do I sing?"

"Anything you want to, babe."

She tried to think of a song. She tried to remember a song. She knew what a song was, so why was it she was struggling so hard to think of one? Everyone was watching her and staring.

"What if I'm not a good singer? Will it not work?"

"It will work whether you're bad or good." Lorne assured her.

She took a deep breath.

"Happy Birthday to you..."

Lorne closed his eyes and leaned foward, putting his elbows on his knees.

"Happy Birthday to you..."

She saw Lorne suddenly make a frown and then his once smiling face was very serious.

"Happy Birthday, dear HMM HMM. Happy Birthday to you."

She knew that song, but not her name.

Lorne leaned back in the couch once again and relaxed, but he still didn't look as happy as before.

"Did you see anything?" Angel asked and Lorne nodded.

"Do you know my name?"

He smiled again, "Keira."

She mouthed the word. Keira had been hoping her name would feel...like her name.

"Who am I?" She really had asked herself the question, but Lorne took a deep breath and started.

"Well, you were a student at... at UCLA. You..." he faltered, now sure how to say it. He frowned remembering what he saw. Her crying, begging for her life, on an altar. "Someone took you. You were... a sacrifice, I guess? It's all a big blur, bits and pieces came through."

She touched the scar on her chest. Someone had killed her, sacrificed her. She had been going to school and they had made her a monster. Fred reached from behind the couch and put a hand on Keira's shoulder.

Angel stood up and starting talking to Lorne. "Did you get her last name? We can search the school's datebase and find out more."

Lorne shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, Angel."

"It's fine. We can search the missing persons for UCLA students named Keira. How many of those can there be?" Spike smirked. He knew that was a great idea.

"Good job, blondie! Peroxide hasn't completely fried your brain," Cordelia teased.

"I'll start looking through the missing persons," Fred let go of Keira's shoulder.

Angel nodded as Fred went to the computer. If she was human before and not part of the cult that meant Keira was more likely possessed than transformed. It would take research through a whole new batch of old, dusty books to find out which one.

* * *

><p>"Not it!" Cordelia and Spike glowered at each other.<p>

Angel had just said he need someone to stay and look through the books. The two of them and looked and each other and instantly yelled.

"I am not bloody staying here!"

"I already researched your dead-end bomb theory!"

"Please, you guys. Fred found a potential match on Keira and I'm going to follow it."

"I'm with him," Spike said quickly. Cordelia raised her eyebrow.

"What? It's better than all the papercuts from those soddin' deathtraps." Detective work was definitely more fun than sitting and pretending to research for hours on end. Besides, he'd lost the tennis ball.

Keira looked into the glass coffee table between the couches. Watching her reflection, she looked into her own black eyes. They must not always have been black. She wondered what color they used to be. What little she knew about herself hadn't made her feel better. Now there were so many more questions. She needed to know more.

"I'm going too," she said softly. They all looked at her.

"Keira," Angel started, unsure if he was allowed to use her just recently uncovered name.

"I want to know what happened to me. I want to find who did this to me." She walked up to the three. "I need to."

"Ok, Spike, Keira. Let's go."

Cordelia huffed. Spike smirked. "See ya, ducks."

Angel shot her an apoligetic look. He might need the extra help if Keira was coming with.

"Yea, yea. Go solve mysteries."


End file.
